Keppel FELS Ltd has secured a contract with GlobalSantaFe Corporation (GSF) to build an ultra-deepwater drilling rig for US$270 million.

Under the contract agreement, GSF will supply the drilling and sub-sea equipment while Keppel FELS provides the design, engineering and construction of the hull as well as the accommodation quarters for 180 men and marine equipment.

GlobalSantaFe puts the estimated construction cost of the rig at approximately $590 million, including shipyard costs, owner-furnished equipment, project management costs and general contingencies.

The rig, to be named the GSF Development Driller III, is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2009.

GSF has chosen to build the state-of-the-art semisubmersible (semi) to the proprietary design, DSS-51, jointly designed and developed by Keppel's Deepwater Technology Group (DTG) and Marine Structure Consultants (MSC).

The DSS-51 design is described as "maintenance-friendly with excellent safety features well suited for both exploration and development drilling as well as workover operations."

With a dynamically positioned system (DPS 2), it can drill wells down to 10,000 m (30,000 ft) and operate in water depths of up to 3,048 m (10,000 ft) in environments such as offshore Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and South East Asia.

GlobalSantaFe President and CEO Jon Marshall said, "We are very pleased to be able to expand our ultra-deepwater fleet with a state-of-the-art newbuild rig backed by a seven-year commitment that extends to 2016."

GlobalSantaFe Corporation says it has entered into a letter of intent with a customer to provide a new ultra- deepwater, semisubmersible drilling rig under a seven-year agreement valued at approximately $1 billion.